Key Biscayne elected officials have recently voted to switch from natural grass to artificial turf on the Key Biscayne Village Green. The safety, health and welfare of our children, as well as of the Key Biscayne Community is being put at risk. There are several factors that the Key Biscayne elected officials have not considered when making the decision that the Key Biscayne Community should be aware of. These factors include:

1. Temperature Build Up: Artificial fields cannot be played on all the time due to temperature build-up on hot sunny days. One study at Brigham Young University recorded that their field reached a surface temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit on a 98 degree day. On a separate occasion, one of the coaches at Brigham University got blisters on the bottom of his feet through his tennis shoes. Temperature could be decreased with irrigation, but the effects are short lived (20 minutes). A study from Pennsylvania State University warns of concerns for athlete safety due to the high temperatures reached on artificial turf fields at peak hours of the day and concluded that until temperatures can be reduced by at least twenty or thirty degrees for an extended period of time, surface temperature will remain a major issue on artificial turf fields.

2. Toxic Chemicals: Artificial turf fields contain a cocktail of toxic materials including benzothiazole, carbon black, and heavy metals. Children are particularly vulnerable to toxic threats. Children have increased exposure to toxic chemicals due to the unique way they interact with their environment. Because they are growing and developing, their bodies are also more susceptible than adults to chemical exposures. Dr. Joel Forman, pediatrician and environmental health expert at Mount Sinai School of Medicine called materials used in artificial turf fields a "potential" cancer risk. As stated by the Mount Sinai Children's Health Environmental Health Center, the New York City Department of Health reviewed the potential health and safety risks from artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill and concluded that chemicals may be absorbed through direct skin contact. This is of greater concern in young children whose skin barrier is not as thick, or keratinized, as older individuals.  

3. Potential Cancer Risk: Amy Griffin, Associate Head Coach of the Women’s Soccer Team for the University of Washington has compiled a list of soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and football players that have played primarily on artificial turf fields who have been diagnosed with cancer. The geographic spread of the athletes on her list is nationwide. Out of the 107 soccer players currently on Griffin’s growing list, 81 are goalkeepers and blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia dominate the list. According to Griffin, “I’ve coached for 26, 27 years,” and “my first 15 years, I never heard anything about this. All of a sudden it seems to be a stream of kids. ”The NBC 6 article and national media broadcast titled “How Safe is the Artificial Turf your Child Plays On?” on Coach Amy Griffin’s story can be viewed at: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/how-safe-artificial-turf-your-child-plays-n220166

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, “public concerns have been raised over the use of tire crumb materials in turf fields and playgrounds,” “the study and the data have many limitations” and “more testing needs to be done.”

4. Use: The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center advises not to use artificial turf fields on extremely hot days. Artificial turf fields should only be used for sports. Artificial Turf fields are not to be used for passive recreation (eg. no sitting, lying down or eating on the artificial turf fields). Infants and young children need to be monitored on or near artificial turf fields to prevent ingestions of artificial turf infill materials. The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Center also states that the New York City Department of Health reviewed the potential health and safety risks from artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill and concluded that pellet infills can stick to the hands and bodies of children playing on the artificial turf fields. This can lead to ingestion in young children who often put hands and toys into their mouths. Additional safe use tips include always wearing shoes on artificial turf fields and at home, take off shoes and shake out your children's equipment and clothes outside the house or over the garbage.

5. Increases in infections: An aspect of artificial turf that is receiving increased scrutiny is the potential for increased incidences of infections among players that play primarily on artificial turf. In one report at least 276 football players were reported to be infected with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, a rate of 517 for each 100,000 individuals. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a rate for the general population of 32 in 100,000.

6. Injuries: Practicing on artificial turf fields could increase the incidence of heat stroke, muscle cramping, and overall athlete fatigue. Coaches holding practices on synthetic fields need to monitor athlete health more closely and need to limit the duration of practices on these surfaces to reduce the risk of athlete injury. A survey of NFL players showed that 74% of players felt that artificial turf fields were more responsible for fatigue than natural grass. In the open comments section of the survey, the most common comment was "make all fields natural grass to prevent injuries." 

7. Environment: Natural grass fields release oxygen (O2) and fix carbon-dioxide (CO2). Artificial turf fields are made of plastic and then in-filled with pulverized rubber particles instead of natural grass. After 8 - 10 years of use, artificial turf fields are required to be disposed of in a landfill. Artificial turf fields produce extreme heat conditions on hot sunny days unlike natural grass, which cools the environment. The net carbon loss for an artificial turf field is high, unlike natural grass fields that have a net carbon gain (despite the need for fertilizer and some pesticide inputs to maintain a natural grass).

8. Costs: It is a myth that artificial turf fields require less maintenance than natural grass. Artificial turf fields require 1) additional infill, 2) irrigation because of unacceptably high temperatures on hot sunny days, 3) chemical disinfectants, 4) sprays to reduce static cling and odors, 5) drainage repair and maintenance, 6) erasing and repainting temporary lines, and 7) removing organic matter accumulation. Long-term costs are less with natural grass compared to artificial turf fields. Artificial turf fields need replacing every 8-10 years and there is a hidden cost of disposal. Disposal costs are estimated at $130,000 plus transportation and landfill charges. 

9. Player Preference: A recent survey of 1,511 active NFL players by the NFL Players Association found that 73% of the players preferred playing on natural grass. 

10. Other Communities:

Ocean City, New Jersey: At the end of last year 2014, Ocean City stopped the installation of an artificial turf field in their local football field. The Mayor of Ocean City, Jay Gillian stated that, “In light of recent news media accounts regarding possible health risks associated with certain types of artificial turf on athletic fields, I have directed my staff to discontinue the planned project to install this material at Carey Stadium.” Additionally, Mayor Gillian wrote, “While I am aware that there are no studies demonstrating a health risk associated with such turf, I have come to believe that further study is necessary. I am not ruling out installation of artificial turf in the future, pending the outcome of such studies. In the meantime the City will undertake the necessary repairs to the track and take any actions necessary to maintain the natural grass at Carey Field in a safe condition.” Ocean City Council President Tony Wilson said, “It just became very clear, after doing a review of media reports, that the mayor was uncomfortable with moving forward with artificial turf at this time,” adding, “What kind of message does it send if we don’t do our due diligence?” The proposal to install turf at the field had caused concern among some residents. Some parents objected to it because they feared there were chemical contaminants in the tire content of the crumb rubber that would pose a health hazard to their children. Others, such as Fairness in Taxes President Michael Hinchman, rejected the argument that turf was more cost-effective than grass and presented an analysis supporting his position.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Resident Glenn Sveum recently launched a petition calling on the Albuquerque School District to remove synthetic turf from sports fields and to trade them out for fields with real grass. The KOB Channel 4 article and media broadcast titled “Father Starts Petition to Get Rid of Artificial Turf Sports Fields” can be viewed at:http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3594974.shtml#.VNWKM7DF8TE

New York City, New York and the Los Angeles school district in California have stopped installing crumb rubber artificial turf fields.

Conclusion: We, Key Biscayne residents, need to be stewards in protecting our Island Paradise. Key Biscayne should not be a community that ignores the available reports and blindly proceeds to install artificial turf at the center of its Village Green. With continuing efforts to increase the sustainability of our Key Biscayne Community, artificial turf is a move in the wrong direction. By signing this petition, let's keep the Key Biscayne Village Green natural grass and let our elected officials know that artificial turf should not be installed on the Village Green.